June 30, 2023 10:47 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A sharply divided Supreme Court has ruled that the Biden administration overstepped its authority in trying to cancel or reduce student loans for millions of Americans. Conservative justices were in the majority in Friday’s 6-3 decision that effectively killed the $400 billion plan that President Joe Biden announced last year. Borrowers are on the hook for repayments that are supposed to resume by late summer. The court held that the administration needs Congress’ endorsement before undertaking so costly a program and rejected arguments that a bipartisan 2003 law dealing with student loans provided the authority Biden claimed.
June 30, 2023 10:34 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has ruled a Christian graphic artist who wants to design wedding websites can refuse to work with same-sex couples. The decision is a defeat for gay rights. The court ruled 6-3 on Friday for designer Lorie Smith despite a Colorado law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender and other characteristics. Smith argued the law violates her free speech rights. Smith’s opponents warned a win for her would allow a range of businesses to discriminate against customers. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court’s six conservative justices that the First Amendment envisions a United States where people are “free to think and speak as they wish.”
June 30, 2023 5:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has sent shockwaves through higher education with a landmark decision that struck down affirmative action and left colleges across the nation searching for new ways to promote student diversity. Leaders of scores of universities said Thursday they were disappointed by what they see as a blow to diversity. Yet many also voiced optimism that they would find new ways to admit more Black and Hispanic students, despite evidence that eliminating the practice often leads to steep enrollment decreases among them. President Joe Biden asked the Education Department to explore policies that could help colleges build diverse student bodies.
June 30, 2023 5:12 am
PHOENIX (AP) — Heat waves like the one that engulfed parts of parts of the South and Midwest and killed more than a dozen people are becoming more common. Experts say the extreme weather events, which claim more lives than hurricanes and tornados, will likely increase in the future. A heat dome that killed 13 people in Texas and another in Louisiana pushed eastward Thursday and is expected to be centered over the mid-South by the weekend. Heat index levels of up to 112 degrees are forecast in parts of Florida over the next few days and extreme heat is expected in Arizona by Saturday. Climate scientists say extreme heat deaths will increase without more action to combat climate change.
June 30, 2023 5:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian group of forces fighting in Ukraine, has been detained days after mercenaries staged a revolt inside Russia. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press about sensitive U.S. and Ukrainian intelligence assessments. It’s not clear whether Surovikin faces any charges or where he is being held. But his detention comes days after Wagner Group mercenaries took the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and were heading toward Moscow in what appears to have been an aborted insurrection.
June 30, 2023 5:09 am
COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine (AP) — In the United States, many people view bigger as better. But some residents of a tiny community in Maine are balking at measuring patriotism by the size of a flagpole. Situated at the nation’s eastern tip, Maine’s Down East region is the place where the sunlight first kisses U.S. soil each day. It’s where the vast wilderness and ocean meet. It’s also the place where a patriotic family has proposed the world’s tallest flagpole — one that’d be taller than the Empire State Building, with a huge American flag on top. The proposal was supposed to unite people around the flag and create jobs. Instead, it’s laying bare community and cultural flashpoints.
June 30, 2023 5:01 am
Authorities are investigating a fatal crash on the Mon-Fayette Expressway Thursday night near the California Exit. The Washington County Coroner’s Office has identified the victim as 56-year-old Eric Moore of Monessen. They say Moore was the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle. They say Moore was exiting the Pennsylvania Turnpike around eight-thirty when he lost control of the vehicle on the exit ramp and traveled over an embankment. He was ejected from the vehicle and authorities say he wasn’t wearing a seat-belt.
June 30, 2023 4:56 am
A Bethel Park man is in the Washington County jail, accused of using Snapchat to lure in two underage girls. Police charged Evan Deckard with multiple felony sex assault charges. Investigators say earlier this year he began chatting with the underage girls on Snapchat, as well as another app called Wink. Deckard offered them both vape pens in exchange for sexual favors, according to police paperwork. Police say Deckard drove to Lacock Street in Canton Township, Washington County, to meet each girl separately this spring. One victim’s mother printed a flyer after the incident, asking neighbors for help identifying the suspect. State Police crime unit cyber investigators tracked him down. Both girls told investigators Deckard knew they were 12 years old. One victim felt uncomfortable and exited his vehicle. Deckard is in the Washington County jail. Police say if you have any information, please come forward. They also urge parents to check their child’s Snapchat account.
June 30, 2023 4:51 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature appear on track to start the state’s new fiscal year without a spending plan in place. Closed-door talks through Thursday have yielded optimism from Republicans, but discontent from Democrats. The 2023-24 fiscal year begins Saturday. Budget negotiators have said little publicly about their private discussions. Republicans have spoken positively of their discussions with Shapiro, but talks with Shapiro’s fellow Democrats have been strained. Democrats say they want more money for public schools and that they oppose a new $100 million private school “voucher” program that is backed by Republicans and supported by Shapir
June 30, 2023 4:49 am
A community engagement meeting sponsored by Blueprints brought the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority to town to survey and take feedback on broadband expansion in the area. The authority is in charge of developing a five year action plan and administering the $1.16 billion in federal funds just received by Pennsylvania from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. That funding is called the Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment program, or BEAD. The idea of the meeting is to aid the authority by making sure residents that are described as unserved and underserved receive access that is described by the BEAD Program as “always on.” Attendees weighed in on issues they have with broadband. The comments ranged from total lack of access to affordability, stating that those on a fixed income would find it difficult to pay even $30 a month for broadband access. Difficulty dealing with service providers was also a concern. Engagement meetings will be held throughout Pennsylvania all summer long.
